Exceptional Kids:Gifted and other Exceptionalities
Seminar Topics
Curiosity Corner and your "Exceptional Kids".
Have you been curious about gifted child development but never knew who to ask? Do you wonder about the 'right way', the 'right' choice, the 'right' path? Join a free-form discussion where parent questions dictate the content.
Gifted Overexcitabilities: Detangling brain function and it's influences over social-emotional learning
How can a gifted child's
intensities or "overexcitabilities" be an asset and harnessed into
positive energy? Explore Dabrowski's theory of Positive Disintegration and
discover strategies to redirect heightened internal awareness. See how interaction
within your environment influence behavior. Learn how the brain processes new
information and how this internal drive can be put to good use.
"Don't Sweat the Small Stuff": Teaching gifted children how to recognize and rebound from self-inflicted stress
Explore various strategies discussed in Richard Carlson's book "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff". Understand how self-inflicted stress can be brought on by oneself or others. Learn to recognize: Who is normal? What is stress? How do genders differ? Discover tips to rebound from life stresses frequently experienced by gifted children.
Gifted Parenting: When to encourage, when to pull back
When is the encouragement for learning for a gifted child benificial? Where might it be better to take a step back and watch the natural progression? What labels do we use when giving encouragement and might there be better messages that can be given? Discover through different scenario's various ways to seek balance when applying a baby-steps philosophy.
Socially Motivating your Gifted Child: Strategies for successfully navigating a social world
Encouraging the gifted child to socially interact with peers outside the scholastic arena is a daunting yet necessary task. Parents of gifted children know that they need to socially motivate their children, but do not always have the tools or resources to find appropriate social opportunities. Discover how to widen your child's social world using tools and coping strategies. Learn how to creatively come up with interesting social activities that encourages your child's mind, yet cannot exist except within the context of a social group. What does a social peer look like? What does "perfectionist" mean? Why are disruptions to routine often difficult for gifted children? Explore these and other issues and coping strategies to modify them as they relate to interacting with social peers.
Strategies to Support the Young Gifted Mind
Coping with the emergence of a gifted child can be daunting. Discover how breaking a new task, into smaller parts, can both reduce a gifted child's anxieties and facilitate his/her learning. Recognize, understand, and navigate around some common gifted behaviors. What does "perfectionist" mean? Why are disruptions to routine often difficult for gifted children? Explore how creatively implementing a few simple coping strategies, early, will assist in bridging that gap often felt when asynchronous development is at play.